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Herrod leaves a lasting legacy

Jan 4, 2012 | 6:52 AM

Brandon Herrod is one of my favorite players of all time. The 20-year-old dealt on New Year's Eve to Kamloops never took a shift off in his four-and-a-half-seasons in a Raider uniform.

The Meadow Lake product surprised everyone as a 14 year old winning the fitness testing in his first Raider training camp and impressed on the ice.

He played a major role in the Mintos second straight national championship that season. Herrod was a third round bantam pick and according to Mintos head Coach Tim Leonard, Brandon out performed first rounders playing in the Sasaktchewan Midget AAA league that year.

Three-hundred-and- fourteen games later Herrod was dealt to the Western conference contending Kamloops Blazers for promising 17-year-old forward Logan McVeigh and a second round draft choice this spring.

He leaves behind many memories from a relentless work ethic including countless blocked shots and successful battles for loose pucks along the boards in addition to throwing more than his fair share of thunderous body checks.

These are some of the reasons general manager Bruno Campese was able to drive such a hard bargain when overage point-a-game players will usually only garner a third or fourth round draft choice.

The Raiders precarious playoff prospects and Herrod's obvious value makes this a good deal. However, if you think it's difficult for me and Raiders fans to see Brandon go, just think about how difficult it was for Bruno Campese. He traded the player he said personifies what it means to be a Raider, but in the business of junior hockey he couldn't take the chance of missing out on an opportunity to help build for the future.

Can the Raiders compensate for the loss of Herrod? Yes. They will need newcomers Anthony Bardaro and McVeigh to step up. Bardaro offensively at even strength and on the power play and McVeigh on the penalty kill. Face-off insider Gregg Drinnan (based in Kamloops) said McVeigh is strong defensively and on the penalty kill. Intangibles like character in the dressing room and off the ice are the responsbility of all the veterans.

Herrod travelled all day before scoring one goal, while playing regular shifts, on both specialty teams and got involved in a line brawl in his Kamloops debut. I hope it's the beginning of a great final half season and long playoff in Brandon Herrod's junior career. It will be mind boggling if he doesn't get another pro tryout next fall.

If McVeigh as expected, develops into a solid WHL player, and if the Raiders select another player who conbributes three to five seasons with the Blazers second round pick this spring, Herrod's legacy will extend well beyond what we saw on the ice, deserving of a spot some day on the Raiders' Wall of Honour.

dwilson@panow.com